CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team responded to a 15-13 game-one loss by overwhelming California (Pa.) in a 19-4 game-two win Sunday on the road.
 
The split moves The Rock to 17-15 overall, with their 11-3 mark in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play keeping the team on top of the PSAC West standings. The Vulcans move to 9-27 on the season and 6-10 in the conference.
 
Slippery Rock's split came with a combined 32 runs on 30 hits including 14 doubles. Julia Nutter homered twice in game two to conclude a phenomenal 5-for-6 day that came with eight RBI and one of the team's doubles. Emma Kennedy also homered in game two, batting 4-for-7 in the twin bill with two doubles and seven RBI.
 
Alexsa Hurd served as Slippery Rock's designated player in the doubleheader and hit 6-for-9 with four doubles and two RBI. Aubrey Mansfield went 5-for-8 with a double and two RBI, while two hits came from each Jessica Goldhardt (2-for-3), Sydney Brown (2-for-5), Julia Montie (2-for-8), Kayla Williams (2-for-3) and Shaylyn Shall (2-for-4).
 
Paige Gresgott (3-7) earned SRU's game two win by tossing six strikeouts in 7.0 innings for the first complete-game win of her career. Alexa Uphold (2-2) was the pitcher of record in game one, piloting the circle for the final 4.0 innings after relieving Williams, who threw three strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
 
GAME ONE – California 15, Slippery Rock 13
Eight runs through the first two innings were not enough for Slippery Rock in a 15-13 game-one loss.
 
The Rock paired seven hits with one error to score four runs in both the first and second innings. SRU took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the first thanks to consecutive RBI-doubles by Nutter and Williams. Cal cut the lead in half to 4-2 with two hits of its own in the home half of the first inning.
 
Slippery Rock jumped out to an 8-2 advantage in the second inning with doubles coming from Shall, Hurd and Mansfield, as well as by another RBI logged by Williams. Once again, the Vulcans got two runs back in the lower half of the inning, shaving SRU's advantage to 8-4.
 
SRU left bases loaded in the top of the third, but not before scoring two runs on back-to-back singles by Hurd and Montie to go up 10-4. Cal drew closer with a five-run inning, bringing SRU's edge down to 10-9 after utilizing three hits and an error.
 
After the game's only 1-2-3 half-inning in the top of the fourth, Cal took its first lead of the game, 11-10, in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run. The Rock got back into the scoring column with two runs in the top of the fifth on two hits, one error and three left on to retake a 12-11 lead.
 
The game continued to change hands in the bottom of the fifth, as California turned two straight doubles into two more runs, going ahead 13-12. The Rock found the tying run in the top of the seventh on a fielder's choice put in play by Kennedy, but an illegal substitution negated Paige Parker's two-RBI go-ahead single.
 
With one out on the board, Cal followed a triple up by launching the walk-off home run into left-centerfield to steal the 15-13 win.
 
Uphold (2-2) suffered the loss in the circle after pitching the final 4.0 innings. She relieved Williams, who tossed three strikeouts in the opening 2.1 frames. Hurd led The Rock offensively as the team's DP, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Mansfield went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
 
Shall (2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI) and Williams (2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI) both contributed two hits, the first two hits of Williams' collegiate career. Montie (1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI) and Nutter (1-for-2, 3 RBI) rounded out SRU's batting. Kennedy drove on run in as well.
 
Taylor Babcock (4-6) was the winning pitcher for California, tossing five strikeouts in the final 4.1 innings. She came into the circle following stints from Makenna Curran (1.2 IP) and Kaitlyn Achtermeier (1.0 IP). The walk-off home run highlighted a 1-for-5 game from Kirra Davis, while Bailee Bertani went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a home run.
 
Slippery Rock outhit California 13-11, while both teams committed two errors. The Rock left 12 runners on base throughout the game with Cal stranding nine.
 
GAME TWO – Slippery Rock 19, California 4
The Rock made sure to post a statement win in response to dropping game one, flaunting the offense in a 19-4 game-two victory.
 
Slippery Rock actually overcame a 1-0 deficit after the first inning in the contest, taking an initial 3-1 lead after Nutter homered to lead off in the second inning. Slippery Rock doubled its tally to 6-1 in the third frame on four hits including doubles from Hurd and Montie to get the ball rolling.
 
Cal fought back with three runs in the bottom of the third, cutting the score to 6-4. The Vulcans did not end up scoring any more in the final four innings.
 
Slippery Rock's final four innings were very much the opposite, beginning with an insurance run in the top of the fourth on a Montie sac-fly that extended its lead to 7-4. Nutter again led off with a home run in the top of the fifth, giving SRU an 8-4 advantage.
 
The Rock more than doubled their lead in the seventh, scoring 11 runs on eight hits and two errors to stake out a 19-4 stronghold. The inning began with four consecutive hits including back-to-back RBI-doubles from Kennedy and Sydney Brown. Goldhardt doubled to get on base scoring Brown and later scored herself by stealing home.
 
Hurd doubled into left-center to plate Arielle Brown and give Slippery Rock a 14-4 lead and was brought home alongside Montie on a two-RBI single knocked up the middle by Nutter. Kennedy capped things off with a three-run homer towards centerfield, securing the 19-4 win for The Rock.
 
Slippery Rock's 19 runs mark the team's highest-scoring performance in six years. With eight doubles in the game, Slippery Rock tied its program record and produced the most doubles in a single game since a 2013 contest versus Edinboro.
 
Nutter's two home runs contributed to a team-leading 4-for-4 game, while Kennedy went 4-for-5 with six RBI, two doubles and a home run. Hurd (2-for-5), Mansfield (2-for-4), Sydney Brown (2-for-4) and Goldhardt (2-for-3) all helped offensively, with two doubles coming from both Hurd and Brown and one courtesy of both Goldhardt and Montie (1-for-4).
 
Arielle Brown scored one run in the game while leading The Rock with three of their six stolen bases. Two extra bases came from Goldhardt, while Mansfield also stole one base.
 
Gresgott (3-7) earned the win with six Ks in 7.0 innings, her third complete game of the season. Megan Nidoh (1-6) suffered the loss by pitching the first 2.0 innings for Cal. Achtermeier (3.2 IP), Babcock (1.1 IP) and Makenna Curran (0.0 IP) also saw time in the circle for the Vulcans.
 
Slippery Rock accumulated a 17-5 advantage in hits, while all four errors in the game came from California. The Rock left just four on base compared to Cal's eight.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will return home to host Gannon University 2 p.m. Tuesday at Kasnevich Field.





To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).